I've been thinking about doing this blog for a long time. I'm not quite sure why though. I feel like maybe some how some of the things I have learned so far in my life may make a difference, maybe?
So I don't really know where to start...so this may be a little rocky...I guess I'll start with me.
This is my story...
I am a 45 year old wife and mother. I have been married for 25 years to my best friend. I feel I am pretty lucky. I have been employed as a lunch lady for the last 10 plus years. I LOVE my job!! I started as an assistant in an elementary school and moved up to a manager. I was an elementary school manager for 3 years and am currently a middle school manager. We have 6th , 7th and 8th graders at my school. I like to refer to the kids as the first born (8th graders) the middle kid (7th graders) and the babies (the 6th graders). The ladies that work with me in the kitchen are like their moms. We feed them, we love them, we discipline them and when they are really bad we send them to see "dad" the principal! I'll come back to this since it's summer and I don't have to deal with the kids right now, this is vacation time!!
The biggest change that has happened in my life is I have RA. Rheumatoid arthritis. I think part of my desire to blog is because of this chronic disease. I was diagnosed in February of 2012. The symptoms started in about December of 2011. Its really hard to pin point exactly when it all happened. My symptoms were pretty text book, swelling and tenderness in both hands, fingers, wrists, toes, ankles, knees. I think tenderness should be called Pain!! It was excruciating pain! I couldn't make a fist or walk, I was exhausted all the time. Finally, I went to see my doctor and she ran a blood test and it came back positive for RA. So she referred me to a Rhumatologist and I have been taking 2 different drugs to help stop the progression and fight the inflamation. The Rheumatologist said that she would have diagnosed me with RA even if the blood work did not come back positive. They call this the invisible disease because you look fine on the outside but are suffering on the inside. I feel like sometimes family and friends forget that this is all still very new for me. It will never go away. I am learning how to deal with it. In my readings it sounds like it could take 2 years in some cases to get a good handle on the disease. Mornings are still hard, it usually takes me a good 20-30 minutes to get my feet working so I can get out of bed. Then when I do get out of bed my feet are very stiff. So its a slow process. Things are getting better, the pain is not as bad as before but i'm not even close to 100%.
Well this is a topic that I could write for days on, and since I have plans for dinner tonight I should sign off...
I will be away till Sunday. This weekend is our big Lunch Lady weekend! I have a friend who has a cottage on a lake and a group of the lunch ladies get together for a couple of days. Saturday and night is just for the girls and Sunday the guys join us for a BBQ. Its a lot of fun and very relaxing! I can't wait, we always have a "shot" of the day and I don't mean an injection!! I'll share more about my weekend on Sunday!
